¶ Overview
While Randy Feenstra claimed to be the “strongest voice” for farmers, he failed Iowa farmers and failed to include year-round E15 in a federal funding package. Even though Feenstra said that year-round E15 legislation could be included in a mini-omnibus appropriations package in late January 2026, Feenstra voted for a federal spending package that created an E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council in lieu of meaningful legislation to enact year-round E15. Despite his failure to include year-round E15 in the spending package, Feenstra praised Republican leadership, even as the National Corn Growers Association called the decision “weak and offensive.” The Iowa Corn Growers Association And Iowa Renewable Fuels Association released a study that highlighted Iowa farmers’ greater need for year-round E15 to maintain pace with increased corn yields. Without year-round E15, the Iowa Corn Growers Association And Iowa Renewable Fuels Association warned the gap between U.S. production of corn and demand would widen and could lead to a farm crisis by 2034.
¶ Randy Feenstra Failed To Get Year-Round E15 Included In A Federal Funding Package And Settled For An E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council In Lieu Of Actually Helping Iowa Farmers
¶ Feenstra Claimed Year-Round E15 Could Be Attached To A Mini-Omnibus Bill, But He Failed To Have It Included In The Government Spending Package
¶ Feenstra Voted For A Government Spending Package That Included An E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council In Lieu Of Year-Round E15, Which The National Corn Growers Association Called “Weak And Offensive”
2026: Feenstra Voted For The $1.8 Trillion FY 2026 Defense, Labor-HHS-Education, And Transportation-HUD Appropriations. In January 2026, Feenstra voted for, according to Congressional Quarterly, “the bill, as amended, that would provide about $1.18 trillion in overall funding for Defense, Labor-HHS-Education, and Transportation-HUD divisions. The Defense portion of the bill would provide approximately $839.2 billion for the Department of Defense, including $13.4 billion for the so-called ‘Golden Dome’ missile defense system. The Labor, Health and Human Services and Related Agencies division of the package would provide roughly $221 billion in discretionary spending, including about $13.5 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Labor and $116.5 billion for HHS. The package also would provide $79 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education and $12.3 billion for the Social Security Administration operating budget. The Transportation, House and Urban Development and Related Agencies portion of the package would provide about $102.9 billion in discretionary funding, including $25.1 billion for the Transportation Department. $77.3 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It also would extend certain health care programs and renew lapsed trade preferences for Haiti and sub-Saharan African nations.” The vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by a vote of 341 to 88. [House Vote 45, 1/22/26; Congressional Quarterly, 1/22/26; Congressional Actions, H.R. 7148; Congressional Actions, H.Res. 375]
- January 2026: Midwestern Republicans Failed To Include A Year-Round E15 In A Government Appropriations Package. According to Politico, “Midwestern Republicans failed last week in an effort to push House GOP leaders to include year-round E15 in a government funding package due for passage by the end of January. Leaders demurred and instead established a rural energy working group that will aim to find a deal between ethanol and oil interests in the next month.” [Politico, 1/27/26]
- January 2026: Once The U.S. House Teed Up A Vote On A Funding Bill, Lawmakers Did Not Include An Amendment To Allow For The Sale Of E15 Year-Round, Despite Midwestern Lawmakers Claiming To Advocate For More Ethanol In Gasoline. According to The Hill, “The House on Thursday rebuffed — at least for now — efforts to allow for more ethanol in gasoline year-round as Midwestern lawmakers pushed for more use of the fuel. Some lawmakers, particularly from the Midwest, sought to include legislation that would allow sales of gasoline with higher ethanol content all year in a funding bill. However, when the lower chamber teed up a vote on the funding bill on Thursday, it did not include an amendment from Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) to allow for the sales of this kind of gasoline, known as E15.” [The Hill, 1/22/26]
- The Spending Package Created An E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council Rather Than Allowing Year-Round Sales Of E15 In The Bill Or Advancing Legislation That Achieved The Same Goal. According to Congressional Quarterly, “The House removed ethanol as an obstacle to passage of fiscal 2026 appropriations bills on Thursday, but lawmakers didn’t advance a separate bill that would allow more of the grain-based fuel additive to be mixed with gasoline. After the House Rules Committee hastily scheduled what advocates hoped would be a Thursday markup of a separate ethanol bill (HR 1346) and amid talk that leaders might try to squeeze a floor vote in the same day, lawmakers didn’t take either step.” [Congressional Quarterly, 1/22/26]
- The Council Would Require A Vote On E15 Legislation By February 25th, But The National Corn Growers Association Called The Decision “Weak And Offensive.” According to Congressional Quarterly, “House GOP leaders also made a concession in the rule to farm-state members in the form of a proposal to create a ‘rural domestic energy council’ aimed at developing E15 legislation by Feb. 15 for a vote by Feb. 25. For some in the industry, however, that promise isn't enough. ‘Corn growers are disgusted, disappointed and disillusioned that after spending years of calling for passage of E15, Congress has again punted, and it has done so in a spectacularly weak and offensive way,’ National Corn Growers Association President Jed Bower said in a statement.” [Congressional Quarterly, 1/22/26]
- Top GOP Lawmakers Failed To Include $15 Billion In Farm Aid. According to Congressional Quarterly, “Top GOP lawmakers had urged party leaders to tack $15 billion in farm aid onto the final batch of appropriations bills, but their pleas went unanswered. Now, House Agriculture ranking member Angie Craig, D-Minn., has released a draft $17 billion farm aid bill, slightly outdoing that Republican bid.” [Congressional Quarterly, 1/22/26]
¶ Feenstra Effectively Voted To Establish An E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council Instead Of Passing Year-Round E15
2026: Feenstra Effectively Voted To Establish An E15 Rural Domestic Energy Council. In January 2026, Feenstra voted for, according to Congressional Quarterly, the rule that “…would deem as adopted a resolution (H Res 375), as amended by a substitute amendment, that would establish a House E-15 Rural Domestic Energy Council, comprised of members appointed by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to develop legislation dealing with E15, or gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol content; biofuels mandates under the Renewable Fuel Standard; refinery capacity; regulatory burdens facing the industry and more.” The vote was on the rule. The House agreed to the rule by a vote of 214 to 213. [House Vote 41, 1/22/26; Congressional Quarterly, 1/22/26; Congressional Actions, H.Res. 1014; Congressional Actions, H.Res. 375]
- The U.S. House Created The Council Rather Than Adding A Provision In The Appropriations Bill Allowing Year-Round Sales Of E15 Or Advancing A Bill With The Same Purpose. According to E&E News, “House Speaker Mike Johnson’s move to create a congressional rural energy council — rather than advance legislation this week boosting ethanol — is prompting a stern backlash from the biofuel industry. The ethanol trade group Growth Energy on Thursday called the gesture a ‘disgrace,’ adding that the panel to be appointed by the Louisiana Republican is likely to give the petroleum industry more say in policies meant to give crop-based fuels a bigger chunk of the transportation energy market. House leaders announced the council in a scramble after turning away a proposal by pro-biofuel Republicans to expand sales of higher-ethanol fuel through an annual appropriations bill heading to a vote Thursday.” [E&E News, 1/23/26]
¶ Feenstra Said Year-Round E15 Legislation Could Be Attached To A Mini-Omnibus Budget Bill The Week Of January 19, 2026
January 13, 2026: Feenstra Said Year-Round E15 Legislation Could Be Attached To A Mini-Omnibus Budget Bill Next Week, As U.S. Ethanol Production Hit A Record 1.196 Million Barrels. According to Ag Web, “The first full week of 2026 marked another record for U.S. ethanol production. Ethanol production in the week ended Jan. 9 hit a record 1.196 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. […] Rep. Randy Feenstra, an Iowa Republican, told the Brownfield Ag Network on Tuesday that year-round E15 legislation could be attached to a mini-omnibus appropriations bill. ‘That’s going to happen next week,’ he said. ‘We’ve got one passing this week, it probably won’t jump on this week. It’s really directed on how the Senate can achieve this, we’re working from the House side. But we’re just trying to find that train that we can jump on and get it done.’” [Ag Web, 1/15/26]
¶ Feenstra Praised GOP Leadership As He Settled For An E15 Council In Lieu Of Critical Legislation To Allow Year-Round E15
¶ Feenstra Claimed He Was The “Strongest Voice” For Farmers And Praised GOP Leadership As He Settled For The Rural Domestic Energy Council In Lieu Of Passing Legislation To Authorize E15 Year-Round
January 2026: Feenstra Claimed He Was The “Strongest Voice” For Farmers While Citing His Role As Co-Chair Of The Rural Domestic Energy Council To Pass Year-Round E15. According to Feenstra’s Twitter, “Since I was elected to Congress, I promised Iowans that I would be the strongest voice for our farmers, biofuels producers, and rural communities. That promise has not wavered, and it's why I'm honored to co-chair the Rural Domestic Energy Council to pass year-round #E15.”
[Twitter, @RepFeenstra, 1/22/26]
January 2026: Feenstra Praised Trump And GOP Leadership While Framing E15 Expansion As Central To Lower Gas Prices, Energy Independence, And Support For Rural America. According to Feenstra’s Twitter, “My statement with @RepBice on the creation of the Rural Domestic Energy Council to pass year-round #E15.”
[Twitter, @RepFeenstra, 1/22/26]
¶ Iowa Corn Growers Association And Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Emphasized Year-Round E15 Was Vital For Iowa Farmers And Warned Of A Looming Farm Crisis By 2034
Iowa Corn Growers Association And Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Study: U.S. Farmers Need Year-Round E15 To Maintain Pace With Increased Corn Yields, And E15 Would Boost Demand By Nearly 2.5 Billion Bushels Annually. According to the Des Moines Register, “The Iowa Corn Growers Association and renewable fuels group released a study this month showing that U.S. farmers need year-round access to E15 to keep pace with rising corn yields. It would boost demand for corn by about 2.5 billion bushels annually, experts have said.” [Des Moines Register, 1/28/26]
Iowa Corn Growers Association And Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Study: Year-Round E15 Was Critical In Addressing Corn Supplies And Prices. According to the Des Moines Register, “The Iowa Corn Growers Association and Iowa Renewable Fuels Association released a study on Wednesday, Jan. 21, that shows corn supplies exploding — and prices falling — without the pipeline providing access to the developing, 120 billion-gallon low-carbon jet and marine fuel market. They say allowing the year-round sale of E15, gasoline blended with 15% ethanol instead of the usual 10%, also is a critical need.” [Des Moines Register, 1/22/26]
Iowa Corn Growers Association And Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Study: Without Year-Round E15, The Gap Between U.S. Corn Production And Demand Would Widen, And Farmers Could Face Ending Stocks Nearly As Large As A Full Year’s Demand, Similarly To The 1980s Farm Crisis, By 2034. According to the Des Moines Register, “The gap between U.S. corn production and demand ‘gets very large, very quickly’ without year-round E15, the report says. ‘By 2034, we could be facing ending stocks that are nearly as large as a full year’s worth of demand (15-plus billion bushels), similar to the 1980s farm crisis.’ And ‘reducing corn acreage to manage prices will impact small family farms the most and increase further consolidation already seen in agriculture,’ the report says.” [Des Moines Register, 1/22/26]
Iowa Corn Growers Association Board Vice President Steve Kuiper Said Iowa Farmers Were “Struggling With Low Commodity Prices, High Input Costs And Lack Of Markets” And That Year-Round E15 Was The “Lifeline” Farmers Needed To Continue Farming. According to the Des Moines Register, “‘Farmers are struggling with low commodity prices, high input costs and lack of markets. Passage of year-round E15 is the lifeline many of us need to be able to continue farming,’ said Steve Kuiper, a Marion County farmer and the Iowa Corn Growers Association board vice president.” [Des Moines Register, 1/28/26]